West Ham fans have been left reeling after Rangers sent talented winger Kai Kennedy on loan to Dunfermline amid high-profile interest from the Hammers.
Kennedy, 19, is amongst the most highly-rated talents at Ibrox and last season signed a new two-year deal that ties him to the club until 2023.
West Ham fans have criticsed their club for missing out on Rangers kid Kai Kennedy, who joins Dunfermline. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Spending last season on loan in the Scottish Championship across two spells with Inverness and Raith Rovers, Kennedy will return to the second tier this season.
Signing the youngster will be considered a sizeable coup for Peter Grant’s side and now Kennedy has the chance to go and fire the Pars to promotion from the Championship.
But things could’ve been very different for Kennedy this season as West Ham and David Moyes reportedly launched an 11th-hour bid for the player.
According to reports, the Hammers returned with three bids for Kai with the final one topping £1m [Football Insider].
Subscribe to Rangers News TV now
Kennedy had even admitted that he was “flattered” by the interest.
Rangers have felt the brunt of their top talents moving down south on the cheap after Billy Gilmour moved to Chelsea for a reported £500k as a teenager [Sky Sports] but they have stood firm here.
West Ham supporters have taken aim at the club for their ineffectiveness in the transfer market so far as yet another player appears to have slipped by the wayside:
Dunfermline beating West Ham to the signings of certain players. Jesus Christ. 🤣🤣 https://t.co/EA6dLp1JOE
— H 👍🏼⚒ (@FPLHarry23) July 22, 2021
Another one 🤣🤣🤣🤣 you bunch of mugs @karren_brady @davidgold #GSBOUT https://t.co/jjunnTsz6C
— TC #GSBOUT (@Tchambers2811) July 22, 2021
We are now losing out on targets to Dunfermline Athletic https://t.co/weepYQrPas
— ⚒Shane WHU Slaven #GSBOUT ⚒ (@shaney9ss) July 22, 2021
well that’s a transfer target gone https://t.co/0w7Wn076bH
— Webster (@_whufcryan) July 22, 2021
Another player Moyes wanted but we didn’t wanna pay an asking price which was peanuts🤣🤣 https://t.co/03ATBemIAi
— Jack Young⚒⚒ (@youngie2001) July 22, 2021
Bet David Sullivan is fuming that he’s been bidding money for an player when he was available on loan. https://t.co/MxPgTD671c
— Mark Harrison (@MarkHarrison23) July 22, 2021
Well that ended that one pretty quickly. https://t.co/0a5D8ptzzB
— West Ham Transfers (@westhamtransfer) July 22, 2021
We are acc a joke 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/gdVGXnMGtc
— el chico (@ovo_forbes) July 22, 2021
Despite Moyes being "really keen", and us submitting 3 bids. Sullivan's skills of landing targets are exemplary. 🙈⚒ #GSBOUT https://t.co/imPEKoiXOa
— West Ham Rambles #GSBOUT (@WestHamRambles) July 22, 2021
They’re in for some bad news when it comes to what Kennedy’s ambitions are in the coming seasons too.
Speaking to the Courier, Kennedy admits that he has his eyes set on the Rangers first following a year with the Pars.
“You go out on loan to prepare and be ready to go back and be part of Rangers first team. That is my ambition,” said Kennedy.
“I just kept my head [regarding West Ham]. I kept working hard no matter what happened behind the scenes.
“Whatever happened, happened and I am just glad to be at Dunfermline and getting back to playing football.”
#DAFC are delighted to welcome Kai Kennedy on loan from Rangers.
➡️ https://t.co/URfEwJWXMK pic.twitter.com/g7fUSaDOMP
— Dunfermline Athletic (@officialdafc) July 22, 2021
The youngster also revealed that a Covid-19 diagnosis and subsequent isolation held up the player’s transfer with reports long-touting him with a move to East End Park.
Whilst West Ham might’ve failed with their approach, reports this morning have suggested another Premier League club is interested in a leading Rangers star.